Electrochemical reduction of N2 to NH3 provides an alternative to the Haber−Bosch process for sustainable, distributed production of NH3 when powered by renewable electricity. However, the development of such process has been impeded by the lack of efficient electrocatalysts for N2 reduction. Here we report efficient electroreduction of N2 to NH3 on palladium nanoparticles in phosphate buffer solution under ambient conditions, which exhibits high activity and selectivity with an NH3 yield rate of ~4.5 μg mg−1Pd h−1 and a Faradaic efficiency of 8.2% at 0.1 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode (corresponding to a low overpotential of 56 mV), outperforming other catalysts including gold and platinum. Density functional theory calculations suggest that the unique activity of palladium originates from its balanced hydrogen evolution activity and the Grotthuss-like hydride transfer mechanism on α-palladium hydride that lowers the free energy barrier of N2 hydrogenation to *N2H, the rate-limiting step for NH3 electrosynthesis.

This article reports on the International Nanofluid Property Benchmark Exercise, or INPBE, in which the thermal conductivity of identical samples of colloidally stable dispersions of nanoparticles or "nanofluids," was measured by over 30 organizations worldwide, using a variety of experimental approaches, including the transient hot wire method, steady-state methods, and optical methods. The nanofluids tested in the exercise were comprised of aqueous and nonaqueous basefluids, metal and metal oxide particles, near-spherical and elongated particles, at low and high particle concentrations. The data analysis reveals that the data from most organizations lie within a relatively narrow band ͑Ϯ10% or less͒ about the sample average with only few outliers. The thermal conductivity of the nanofluids was found to increase with particle concentration and aspect ratio, as expected from classical theory. There are ͑small͒ systematic differences in the absolute values of the nanofluid thermal conductivity among the various experimental approaches; however, such differences tend to disappear when the data are normalized to the measured thermal conductivity of the basefluid. The effective medium theory developed for dispersed particles by Maxwell in 1881 and recently generalized by Nan et al. ͓J. Appl. Phys. 81, 6692 ͑1997͔͒, was found to be in good agreement with the experimental data, suggesting that no anomalous enhancement of thermal conductivity was achieved in the nanofluids tested in this exercise.

Electroreduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) over copper-based catalysts provides an attractive approach for sustainable fuel production. While efforts are focused on developing catalytic materials, it is also critical to understand and control the microenvironment around catalytic sites, which can mediate the transport of reaction species and influence reaction pathways. Here, we show that a hydrophobic microenvironment can significantly enhance CO2 gas-diffusion electrolysis. For proof-of-concept, we use commercial copper nanoparticles and disperse hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) nanoparticles inside the catalyst layer. Consequently, the PTFE-added electrode achieves a greatly improved activity and Faradaic efficiency for CO2 reduction, with a partial current density >250 mA cm−2 and a single-pass conversion of 14% at moderate potentials, which are around twice that of a regular electrode without added PTFE. The improvement is attributed to a balanced gas/liquid microenvironment that reduces the diffusion layer thickness, accelerates CO2 mass transport, and increases CO2 local concentration for the electrolysis.

The high theoretical capacity and low discharge potential of silicon have attracted much attention on Si-based anodes. Herein, hollow porous SiO2 nanocubes have been prepared via a two-step hard-template process and evaluated as electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries. The hollow porous SiO2 nanocubes exhibited a reversible capacity of 919 mAhg−1 over 30 cycles. The reasonable property could be attributed to the unique hollow nanostructure with large volume interior and numerous crevices in the shell, which could accommodate the volume change and alleviate the structural strain during Li ions' insertion and extraction, as well as allow rapid access of Li ions during charge/discharge cycling. It is found that the formation of irreversible or reversible lithium silicates in the anodes determines the capacity of a deep-cycle battery, fast transportation of Li ions in hollow porous SiO2 nanocubes is beneficial to the formation of Li2O and Si, contributing to the high reversible capacity.